Editing Georges Perec (section)

==Career==
Perec started writing reviews and essays for [[Nouvelle Revue Française| ''La Nouvelle Revue française'']] and ''[[Les Lettres nouvelles]]'', prominent literary publications, while studying history and [[sociology]] at the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]]. In 1958/59 Perec served in the French army as a [[paratrooper]] ({{lang | fr | XVIIIe Régiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes |italic= no}}); he married Paulette Petras after being discharged. They spent one year (1960/1961) in [[Sfax]], Tunisia, where Paulette worked as a teacher; these experiences are reflected in ''[[Things: A Story of the Sixties]]'', which is about a young Parisian couple who also spend a year in Sfax.

In 1961 Perec began working at the Neurophysiological Research Laboratory in the unit's research library funded by the [[CNRS]] and attached to the [[Hôpital Saint-Antoine]] in Paris as an [[archivist]], a low-paid position which he retained until 1978. A few reviewers have noted that the daily handling of records and varied data may have influenced his literary style. In any case, Perec's work on the reassessment of the academic journals under subscription was influenced by a talk about the handling of scientific information given by [[Eugene Garfield]] in Paris, and he was introduced to [[Marshall McLuhan]] by [[Jean Duvignaud]]. Perec's other major influence was the [[Oulipo]], which he joined in 1967, meeting [[Raymond Queneau]], among others. Perec dedicated his masterpiece, {{lang | fr | La Vie mode d'emploi}} (''[[Life: A User's Manual]]'') to Queneau, who died before it was published.

Perec began working on a series of [[radio play]]s with his translator Eugen Helmle and the musician {{Interlanguage link|Philippe Drogoz|de}} in the late 60s; less than a decade later, he was making films. His first cinematic work, based on his novel {{lang | fr | [[A Man Asleep | Un Homme qui dort]]}}, was co-[[Film director|direct]]ed by {{Interlanguage link|Bernard Queysanne|fr}}, and won the feature-film [[Prix Jean Vigo]] in 1974. Perec also created [[crossword]]-puzzles for ''[[Le Point]]'' from 1976 on.

''La Vie mode d'emploi'' (1978) brought Perec some financial and critical success—it won the [[Prix Médicis]]—and allowed him to turn to writing full-time. He was a [[writer-in-residence]] at the [[University of Queensland]] in Australia in 1981, during which time he worked on ''53 Jours'' (''53 Days''), which remained unfinished. Shortly after his return from Australia, his health deteriorated. A heavy smoker, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died the following year in [[Ivry-sur-Seine]] at age 45, four days shy of his 46th birthday; his ashes are held at the [[columbarium]] of the [[Père Lachaise Cemetery]].